A new video showcasing the Minnesota city of Minneapolis highlights all the culture, creativity and community the midwest metropolis has to offer.
The video was a passion project by Cinematographer and Colorist Samuel Li, Director and Editor Nations Stephenson, and FPV and B-Cam operator Ian Tunney.
“We wanted this video to look like a collective story of the people who live there, not just an outsider’s perspective of the city,” Li said. “After weeks of planning, shooting, and editing, we’re proud to show this to you all. Welcome to Minneapolis, Minnesota.”
Minneapolis is Minnesota’s most populace city, with a population of 429,954 as of April 1, 2020. It forms what is known as the “Twin Cities” with neighboring state capitol St. Paul.
“After the success of our Madison passion project, all I knew was that I wanted to create another one,” Li continued in an Instagram post. “So Ian Tunney and I reached out to Minneapolis native, Nations Stephenson for help. We wanted this video to look like a collective story of people who lived there, not just an outsider’s perspective of the city.”
Minneapolis is recognized for its many lakes and parks as well as it’s numerous cultural landmarks like the Walker Art Center and the adjacent Minneapolis Sculpture Garden, famed for Claes Oldenburg’s “Spoonbridge and Cherry” sculpture. The city also has a thriving food and music scene.
“Before this I’d never been to Minneapolis and I’m glad this project served as my first impression,” Tunney wrote. “With Sam being from [Wisconsin] and myself being from [New York] it simply wouldn’t have been right for us to make this on our own, and I can’t thank Nations enough for trusting us with his vision. While we were shooting you could tell he’d been thinking about manifesting this video for years. Happy to have helped bring it to life and see it through.”
Minneapolis native Nations Stephenson enjoyed assisting with the project.
“My very first videos six years ago were just me running around trying to capture Minneapolis with a GoPro,” said Stephenson. “This project really brought things around full circle. Thank you to everyone involved – my love for my city and it’s people only continues to grow.”
Cinematographer + Colorist: Samuel Li
FPV + B-Cam: Ian Tunney
Music: “Southside” by Lucien Parker
The video’s creators travel all over, capturing communities and their respective stories. Check out more of their work in the socials below.
